Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
April 15, 2015
It was pointed out to me that this lovely nubuck suede jacket (thanks, House of Fraser!) would also look lovely with navy... so I'm taking us on an imaginary long weekend in Paris this time...
love, Janice
Looking Back:
2014: Chic Sightings: Dots! 2013: Project 333: My First Week in "My" Uniform 2012: Packing: Brown and Turquoise ... View the Post
March 11, 2015 Ah, this made me think of warm weather, leisure, simplicity, being outdoors...
Yes, it's a cardigan, but it's relaxed, and it's linen! When choosing loafers for this trip, I would make sure that they were low enough cut over the foot so that they would look nice with shorts, worn without socks. I'd even travel without socks, although I think I'd want some sort of little socklet/footie for in the airport. Barefoot in the airport gives me the willies!
If you're only going away for a few days, a Six-Pack is the perfect way to pack. These clothes would fit into the smallest tote... (No, this dress has not been made to measure for someone - the brand name is ... View the Post
February 3, 2015
I love this painting... if this doesn't make you smile, I can't help you.
While I strongly suspect that these nuns are wearing black habits, the habits look very navy on my computer, and so my imagination was strongly drawn to working with navy, white and cool pastels.
I've talked before about the usefulness of having six garments that are the same color, that give you a basis for getting dressed on Monday morning without opening your eyes. That idea has really stuck in my head, so I've decided that I want to build on it a few times. Let's start here:
Even if you get dressed out of here every Monday, you still have LOTS of clothes unworn, so let's toss in a few extra goodies ... View the Post
December 19, 2014 Yesterday, there were a couple of concerns/questions about what to do if you don't look good in camel. How about navy? (grey would also be fabulous, as would taupe...)
Of course, still lots of possible ways to wear these few simple basics!
love,
Janice ... View the Post
December 17, 2014 I know I seem to talk about this same idea a lot, but I can't sufficiently emphasize the benefits of building your wardrobe around a unifying theme of some sort. Your theme could be a particular color scheme, a painting, a photograph, or a scarf - there are really no limits to what you might choose. This theme doesn't have to last throughout your entire life, nor does it have to define absolutely EVERY purchase that you make. However, it should be an overarching guideline that helps you make the hard decisions when you see something appealing - does it fit? does it clash? does it harmonize? does it make NO SENSE WHATSOEVER in the context of your chosen style theme? So, when someone asked ... View the Post
November 21, 2014 Many of you were interested in a coat to wear with navy clothes, and I had great fun obliging! Some of these coats cost MANY months of rent, but they are amazingly beautiful, and they give us a look and a level of quality to which we can aspire in our more normal coat shopping.
The Patterned Coat
Paisley! Subtle, and almost iridescent, This coat doesn't need much. The hat is divine, the infinity scarf is a subtle melange of the colors in the coat, and the cashmere gloves pick up one of the brighter highlight colors. Feather earrings echo the swirling feeling of the pattern of the coat. Note: These cashmere gloves are going to show up a few times - they are available in a range of ... View the Post
November 13, 2014 Isn't this beautiful? One of you sent it to me, and it captivated me immediately. The vertical layout, the soft background, the muted shades of green and blue, the accents of warm rust, gold and orange - what a wonderful painting. There are so many things about this that could serve as inspiration and focus: the colors, the organic nature of the image, the soft blending of the background colors, the use of about a billion shades of bluish green - there's just no end to the ideas that can come from this one work of art. (but that's probably true, for the right person, of any work of art, right?)
This was my chosen color scheme - a base in very dark navy, accents of all those ... View the Post
October 14, 2014 The French 5-Piece Wardrobe is a great way to experiment with new color palettes, but it can also be used as a way to build upon The Common Capsule Wardrobe in your chosen neutrals. Adding in a neutral item or two can really expand the versatility of your core garments, while a new color or two keeps the boredom at bay. Let's see what these five items do for A Common Capsule Wardrobe:
Remember, this is A Common Wardrobe, in navy and grey, with which we're working:
First off, the beautiful green sweater actually would give you eight new possibilities (I only show four) - it can be worn with any of your pants, jeans, or skirt, and it can be worn with ... View the Post
October 10, 2014 While the French 5-Piece Capsule Wardrobe is great for experimenting with new colors or trendy items, it can also be an opportunity to build your wardrobe around your favorite colors. If you like pink - all shades of pink - then indulge in a combination of beautiful items for the long-term and a few more spontaneously fun things for a season or two.
There are lots of possibilities here, from bright and cheery ensembles to more subtle and low-key ones.
Just a reminder that this is A Common Capsule Wardrobe upon which we are building.
love,
Janice ... View the Post
October 9, 2014 Very popular colors - I often get requests for capsule wardrobes in these! And this year, this wine color is quite popular and readily available - if it's a color that you love, this is a good season to pick up a piece or two. This is an long-term sweater, a blouse that should last you a couple of seasons at least, and a cardigan that you can count on for a few years. Most scarves hold up well and can be counted on for the long term. But I think the stand-out item here is the great wool shopping bag - how clever is it to make a wool bag? I can just imagine how nice this feels...
In order to give you a fuller view of just how useful these few items can be, ... View the Post
October 8, 2014
There's a lot of talk in books and on the internet about the "French 5-Piece Wardrobe", which is a misnomer if there ever was one! The wardrobe isn't really five pieces; the concept is that you have a core of basic, neutral garments, and you then add FIVE pieces per season. I'm sure some people define a season as every 3 months, but it would certainly also make sense to just do this every 6 months. Whatever makes you happy, right?
But when I read descriptions about the "core" of neutral garments, I kept thinking that it sounded a lot like The Common Wardrobe... And that this philosophy might be an option for helping us build our wardrobes of basics, while at the same time introducing accent colors, long-term ... View the Post
September 22, 2014 I don't want everybody to feel like I've beaten the "navy and grey" horse to death, but I had a lot of requests for variations of those colors, and they all take on their own feel... Please remember that I prepared these posts back in August, so you'd have pretty things to read while I'm on vacation; if the hyperlinks don't work, or an item is sold out, I sincerely apologize! This is the color scheme - three of the colors we've worked with before, but this bright plum color changes everything. What once was a soft and muted palette takes on a brightness and life that can be included in an outfit on a day that feels right, or you can always stick with the softer colors when that's what you ... View the Post
